


Hashirama and his Cat

by StormiTheCriminal



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, M/M, my art
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 14:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormiTheCriminal/pseuds/StormiTheCriminal
Summary: Two weeks after the battle at the valley of the end and Madara's death, Hashirama returns to the village with a fluffy black cat.Tobirama is suspicious.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Hashirama and his Cat

It was two weeks to the day after the fateful battle that Tobirama met the little hellion.

The white-haired Senju had gone into work early after waking to realize that Hashirama was back in the village – and that he was at the Hokage tower. Why had he not been alerted to his brother’s return and why was Hashirama at work before sunrise?

Tobirama wasn’t sure what to expect when he opened Hashirama’s office door, but he had _not_ expected to see his Elder Brother _working_.

“Otouto!” Hashirama looked up at Tobirama and smiled as he stepped in and closed the door. Before the younger Senju could say anything in return, the sharp sound of nails on glass cut through the air and drew his attention to the window. Particularly, the window farthest to the left. There was a little black creature there, viciously dragging its little claws down the glass as if trying to get out.

“I got a cat,” Hashirama explained, smiling softly at the black ball of fur.

“I see,” Tobirama replied slowly, “and where did you acquire it?”

“Oh! I found him while I was off doing…-,” Hashirama shrugged, seemingly unable – or unwilling – to admit he was off mourning the loss of his friend.

Truthfully, Hashirama looked a lot better than Tobirama had initially expected. His brother had been an absolute wreck after returning to Konoha with Madara’s bloody armour and weapons. The village had celebrated the loss of their greatest threat without their Hokage, however, because Hashirama had left shortly after delivering the news.

Tobirama had, in accordance with his brother’s wishes, kept everyone away and allowed him time to deal with what he had done on his own. Even his loyal wife Mito was pushed away and asked to give him space.

Hashirama had stayed within a single day's run of Konoha. He mostly lingered near the oldest Senju compound, which at that point was nothing more than a few stone walls around a flooded pond.

Tobirama knew that place well, it was where he and Hashirama had gone during his first few years training with the Mokuton. The trees there were enormous, and the air was permeated with his brother’s chakra. It wasn’t surprising that Hashirama had ended up there. It was a safe place for him, with good memories attached to it.

The kitten, however, was a surprise.

The little hellion turned and Tobirama was greeted with sharp bright red eyes. The Senju raised an eyebrow at the heated expression, who knew a Cat could look so… _murderous_.

“Alright, well, you should keep it contained.”

“I put a Mokuton collar on him,” Hashirama proudly boasted, wiggling a finger at the kitten. The gesture caused the thin wooden collar to light up and the kitten jerked against the tiniest of warning jolts. “And I’ve been training him with little shocks.” The kitten howled his enthusiastic disagreement with the apparent ‘ _training regimen_ ’, yet, obediently stomped over to a plush cushion positioned on the ledge of the windowsill.

The huffy creature, who was small enough to fit in Tobirama’s two hands, curled up into a little ball with his back deliberately shown to the two Senju.

“He is feisty, but I think this is a good place for him,” Hashirama mused lightly, lacing his fingers together atop the paperwork he had been filling out.

“Have you given him a name?” Tobirama indulged, crossing his arms, and leaning back against the wall.

“Chibi.”

Tobirama almost snorted, it’s a fitting name given how small the fluffy creature was.

“He must be young given his size; did you take him from his mother?”

“No! I would never!” Hashirama insisted, “he was completely alone. I think he was lost.” A darkness fell over Hashirama’s eyes and Tobirama knew that to be a sign to leave a topic be.

“Alright. I am going to begin on the day’s work. How long do you intend to stay in office?” Tobirama stepped away from the wall. “You still have two more weeks off.” Though Tobirama wasn’t complaining, the help was appreciated.

“Just a little bit longer. Chibi woke me up early this morning, so I figured I would get something done.”

Tobirama crossed the room and dropped a hand lightly on his elder brother’s shoulder. “If you need anything, let me know, Anija.”

Hashirama reached up to touch Tobirama’s hand and he squeezed it. “Thank you, Otouto. I will.”

Tobirama nodded and hirashined away without another word.

Hashirama sighed softly and took a moment to appreciate how lucky he was to have his little brother still with him. He then turned to the little ball of fluff still pretending he doesn’t exist, “now, what to do with you.”

x.X.x

Hashirama left just as he did the first time – without warning, but with a clear flare of his chakra to let Tobirama know he did not want to be followed.

He took nothing but a storage scroll and the wiggly kitten.

“Stay still,” he scolded as he zipped through the trees, delivering a slight shock that felt like a soft buzzing against his fingertips. The kitten hissed and pointedly did not detach his fangs from the meat of Hashirama’s palm. But the kitten did stop trying to burrow through the appendage. That was good enough for the Senju and he continued in silence.

Night was falling rapidly on them and he had left a little later than he had wanted to. He needed to be careful, especially when he brought the kitten with him to Konoha. He didn’t want to place a hirashin tag at the old ruins in case Tobirama found it, but he might have to in case of an emergency.

Hashirama jumped down from the trees and landed gracefully at the entrance of the old Senju compound. He walked into the gloriously familiar surroundings. The trees he had created sung happily in greeting and he flared his chakra in return. It was safe to let the kitten down now, and Chibi happily trotted _away_ from the Senju.

Hashirama sighed and followed after the small creature. They both knew that there was no chance of him getting away from Hashirama. Not for lack of trying but for lack of _chakra_.

They fell into the familiar game of follow the grumpy cat as the moon rose high into the sky. As it did every night, the ground seemed to glow just before the moon was in the proper position. Chibi noticed and stopped his huffy pacing.

The kitten’s fur was ruffled by an invisible wind and he began to glow the same blue-green hue as their surroundings. A wash of energy rose from the ground and engulfed the creature in a vortex of nature energy.

Hashirama still found the process beautiful – even after seeing it so many times. The twisting energy completely cut off any view of the kitten and it rapidly grew in size over the course of ten seconds. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone.

In its stead was a very angry naked man.

The henge had been shed and the kitten’s true form was revealed.

Hashirama held out a pair of pants and Madara said nothing as he snatched them from the other’s grip and brushed past him.

That was surprising. Each and every night over the past few weeks Madara had been incredibly vocal. To the point where he had begun to lose his voice. The silence was unnerving and mildly concerning.

“Where are you going?” Hashirama called after him. There was no longer the fear of Madara trying to run. He had tried that and failed to reach a significant distance from Hashirama during any attempt. His chakra was sealed, and they were far enough away from Konoha that he would not reach it before the sun rose over the horizon. Not that it was likely Madara would seek help from anyone let alone the village he abandoned.

“Fuck off!” Madara snapped, yanking the pants on, and walking into the tree line. Hashirama sighed _again_ and followed after him at a slower pace. It was typical for Madara to throw mean words and insults at him, Hashirama supposed that it was an improvement over being physically attacked.

Hashirama eventually came upon the Uchiha, leaning against a tree outside of his view. Hashirama turned and leaned against the same tree on the opposite side. He hated this. Hated being a warden to his dearest and most precious friend, but what other choice did he have? Everyone wanted him to kill Madara. They had _celebrated_ when they thought that he had. Why couldn’t Madara see that this was the best of a horrible situation?

“I’m sorry,” Hashirama breathed softly after a long stretch of tense silence.

“Then let me go,” Madara predictably returned.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Fucking coward.”

Hashirama leaned his head back against the tree and looked up at the stars through the leafy canopy above. “Maybe.”

“How long do you intend to keep this up?” Madara’s voice dripped venom, “someone is going to notice you leaving the village every night.”

“Maybe I should just leave you here then.” It was a threat Hashirama had considered using when he first decided upon using this forbidden jutsu. Madara hated being a cat, but over the last two weeks, Hashirama had realized that he hated being a cat _and alone_ much more.

“Could you do that?” Madara hissed, perhaps expecting this turn of narrative. “Could you leave me here to be picked off by one of the many predators of the forest?”

“This compound is protected on all sides by a barrier. None of those predators could get inside.” Hashirama explained, thankful again that Tobirama was such a genius at creating immensely useful jutsu.

Madara was silent for a while and Hashirama knew that he was thinking over the new information – perhaps trying to find a way to exploit it to get away from him. 

Hashirama allowed it, the silence was nice and for a moment he was content with being there with his friend in his most treasured of places. As strange as it seemed, Madara was still his friend. There was a place in his heart that Madara had taken up years ago and perhaps he _was_ a coward, but Hashirama could not give him up. Not even when he threatened the very peace they had created together.

“I want to build a space here for you.” Hashirama was the one to break the silence. He smiled at the thought – he loved giving things to Madara. Even when they were young Hashirama loved to bring Madara gifts just to see the small twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He always thought Madara should smile more. “A space for you to sleep and keep your belongings.”

“What use would I have for that?” Madara’s voice was a little gruffer but certainly calmer, “I spend most of my time as a fucking cat.”

“For now.”

Hashirama could feel Madara’s attention pique. “What does that mean?”

“It means that good behaviour warrants rewards.”

Madara chuckled sharply and without humour. “What do you want me to do? Rollover? Sit? Play dead?”

“No,” in contrast, Hashirama was infuriatingly calm. “But you can start by telling me why you came to the village that night.”

Hashirama had fought Madara several times after he abandoned the village. But only _once_ did Hashirama feel that Madara was seriously a threat and that was the last time. Something had changed with the Uchiha and Hashirama needed to know what it was.

“Why does that matter? I didn’t succeed regardless.”

The terrifying thing was that he might have. If it really came down to one of them dying and Hashirama had a choice who would go – he doesn’t know who he would elect. That made the situation extremely dangerous, particularly because he didn’t know what Madara was planning.

“It does matter.” Hashirama doesn’t push for an answer, “this is how this is going to work, Madara. With each piece of information, you give me, I will give you something in return.”

“My freedom?”

“A home.” Hashirama had already mentally created a little house for his friend. With a big bedroom that led out onto a large engawa and a small kitchen and dining room for them to sit for tea. It was interesting that now that Hashirama had Madara back, everything he planned to do involved him. Even his plans to step down from his position as Hokage – but now was not the time for that.

“I don’t have a home.”

“I will make you one.”

Madara scoffed, but it wasn’t as sharp as his earlier words had been. Hashirama knew his friend; Madara had never had much to claim as his own and he was easily awestruck at the prospect of owning things. Hashirama clearly remembered the day Madara had been rendered speechless when presented his home in Konoha. He initially wouldn’t accept it and Hashirama wondered if he had changed.

As the silence stretched on Hashirama realized that he wasn’t going to get anything out of Madara that night.

He didn’t fret, there was plenty of time, besides, he knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

“You must be hungry, I brought food.” Hashirama pushed away from the tree and headed back to the clearing at the center of the compound. Despite his clear reservations, Madara followed.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!  
> Should Hashirama let Madara remain a human longer? How dark is this Hashirama?
> 
> Come hang out with me on Tumblr! @the-founders


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